Michelle Wie enters weekend T-12th at Kraft Nabisco Championship

Michelle Wie birdies on the fifth hole during the second round of the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship golf tournament in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Friday, April 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Inbee Park took the second-round lead Friday in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, making three birdies in a row early on the back nine and rebounding from a wind-blown bogey with four straight pars.

Finishing in gusty conditions on another hot afternoon at Mission Hills, the 24-year-old South Korean player shot a 5-under 67 to reach 7 under.

“Obviously, putted really good out there, especially on the back nine,” Park said. “The wind picked up, so it was tough out there on the back nine. Last four holes, I made all pars. I’m really happy with that.”

American Lizette Salas was a stroke back after a 68, and Sweden’s Carolina Hedwall and Italy’s Giulia Sergas followed at 5 under. Hedwall shot 68, and Sergas had a 69.

Park is seeking her second major title after winning the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open Championship. She won the LPGA Thailand in February for her fourth LPGA Tour victory when 17-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn closed with a triple bogey to blow a two-stroke lead.

“I just like to stay a little quiet and just do my own thing,” Park said. “If I win a little more, I think I’ll get a little bit more attention.”

Park hit a sand wedge from 70 yards to 2 feet for birdie on the par-5 11th to take the lead at 5 under, then hit 9-iron approaches to 7 feet on the next two holes to set up two more birdies.

The wind pushed her tee shot on the par-3 14th into the left bunker, leading to her lone bogey of the day, and she avoided further trouble on the final four holes.

“We were playing about a club and a half of a breeze there and it was getting tough,” Park said. “I’m just happy that I have a chance on the weekend that I can win.”

Salas hit a three-quarter wedge from 88 yards to 3 feet to save par on the par-5 18th after driving into the left rough and putting her hybrid second into the right rough. Instead of risking hitting into the water fronting the green, she pitched back to the fairway to set up the wedge approach.

“It was not a good lie and I knew if I would go for it, it would probably go in the water,” Salas said. “I’m comfortable in my short game and I’m not a long hitter, so I have to make it up some way. I’ve been working hard dialing in with my wedges because that’s your go-to club. I just trusted it and went with my first instinct.”

The lone American in the top 11, the 23-year-old daughter of Mexican immigrants first came to the tournament as a teenager to watch Mexican star Lorena Ochoa.

“I remember watching Lorena, and I came out with a little banner for her that said `You can do it’ in Spanish, and I had great memories from outside the ropes,” said Salas, from Azusa. “Now, I’m trying to make some from inside the ropes.”

Salas was introduced to the game when her father, the head mechanic at Azusa Greens Golf Course, did some handyman jobs for the club pro and, instead of pay, asked him to teach his daughter how to play. She went on to star at the University of Southern California, where she was a four-time All-America selection and helped the Trojans win the 2008 NCAA title.

She caught Nancy Lopez’s attention and they have become close friends, with the Hall of Famer serving as a mentor.

“I met her for the first time a year ago and she watched me in Phoenix, all 18 holes, and I went to dinner with her and she has been calling and texting me with more advice,” Salas said. “That’s something that’s amazing about her. She reaches out to a second-year player and just kind of has become my second mom on tour. I just can’t thank her enough for all the advice she has given me.”

Michelle Wie shot a 70 to reach 2 under. She had six birdies, but three-putted the 18th for the last of her four bogeys.

“I made a lot of great birdies,” Wie said. “The whole round was pretty interesting in general. I hit some interesting shots around the trees.”

Playing partner Lydia Ko, the 15-year-old New Zealand amateur who won the Canadian Women’s Open last August to become the youngest LPGA Tour champion, was 2 over after a 74.

“She is amazing,” Wie said. “I think she’s pretty good and, like I said yesterday, she is also a really good girl.”

Top-ranked Stacy Lewis followed her opening 73 with a 71, leaving her seven strokes behind Park heading into the weekend.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” said Lewis, the 2011 champion who won consecutive events this year in Singapore and Phoenix. “It’s a major and you want to play well here, but that’s golf. Some weeks it’s going to all come together and other weeks it’s going to be tough, and you got to fight through it.”

Second-ranked Yani Tseng, the 2010 winner, was 3 over after a 75. Winless in more than a year, the Taiwanese star had a triple-bogey 7 on No. 7 – her 15th hole of the day – after she pulled a 3-wood drive left and out of bounds.

“I’ll learn from today and I won’t make the same mistakes tomorrow,” Tseng said.